The consultation will looking at traffic management practices, such as prioritising one kind of traffic over another and conditions under which this is unfair, and whether or not competition between ISPs and the transparency requirements of the new telecom framework are sufficient to enable consumer choice and avoid problems.

The Villa manager has already expressed fears of player burn-out but it is the combination of injuries and suspensions to key players, together with the realisation that Champions League football could be within reach, that has prompted O'Neill to talk of "prioritising" in the weeks ahead unless there is significant movement in the transfer market.

Mr Ainsworth, who for all his talk of "prioritising" could have sprung straight from the pages of Kipling, is at heart a foot soldier who to his own astonishment has become the fourth Secretary of State for Defence in as many years.